OCEANPORT — Before taking there positions at the starting gate Sunday, the seven colts chosen to run in the William Hill Haskell Invitational trotted one-by-one around the paddock as Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” roared from the Monmouth Park PA system. Ironically, Verrazano was the last horse to emerge from the stables.

Onlookers, eager to place last-minute wagers, stood shoulder to shoulder around the paddock fence eying the horses—looking for subtle clues in body language and demeanor. Most tried to size up the two favorites, Verrazano and Oxbow.

As the winner of the Preakness and runner-up in the Belmont, Oxbow’s morning line was 2-1. The New Jersey bred colt has tallied $1,243,500 in career earnings for Calumet Farm in Lexington Kentucky.

However, the favorite was Verrazano, a colt whose only career loss entering Sunday’s event came at the Kentucky Derby.

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Verrazano made sure that the Derby would remain his only blemish as he raced to a $1 million 2013 Haskell victory.

Oxbow took an early advantage and maintained his lead for three quarters of the 9-furlong race. That’s when Verrazano exploded on the outside, pulled away from the pack, and won the race by 9 and ¾ lengths—the largest margin of victory in the 46-year history of the Haskell.

Power Broker, jockeyed by New Jersey’s own Rosie Napravnik, finished second, ahead of a battle for third that saw Micromanage edge out Oxbow.

Napravnik, a 25-year-old Morristown native, is the top female jockey in the United States, and holds the title of the highest finish for a female jockey in Kentucky Derby history. Napravnik was clearly a fan favorite at Monmouth Park as the grandstand erupted when she moved into second.

Power Broker’s trainer Bob Baffert is also a familiar face around Monmouth Park. Had Power Broker raced to victory Sunday, Baffert would have collected a record setting seventh career Haskell win and fourth consecutive.

36,284 fans were on hand to cheer Verrazano to his record setting victory. And for most of those fans, Haskell Sunday started at noon, for the 20th Annual Michael Hughes Memorial Race—the first of 14 races on Haskell Day.

46 years ago the event was named in honor of Armory Lawrence Haskell, the first president of the Monmouth Park Jockey Club. Among other things, Armory Haskell is remembered for his contributions towards an amendment to the New Jersey State Constitution that legalized wagering on thoroughbred horse racing.